Instinct
by Delphi913
Summary: "We're the same, after all." Minato would never know how true that statement was until it was too late.


**Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona belongs to Atlus & Killer7 belongs to Capcom**

"Speech" / _'Thoughts'_

**Tartarus (Iwatodai; Dark Hour)**

Minato Arisato slowly tread up the stairs, taking each step with the appropriate amount of caution so as not to be surprised by any shadows on the way up. Behind him were his two companions, Yukari Takeba and Junpei Iori. It was still pretty surreal to him, this whole experience. It had been a few weeks since he had arrived in town via a train and even less time since he had unleashed his inner power; the power to physically manifest a facet of your personality based on how you act around others: a Persona. It seemed like it was only hours ago that he had first met his new-found school friends and now he was fighting with them against ethereal creatures in this nightmarish world. More interesting than your average high school life, but not exactly preferable either.

Well, regardless of his personal thoughts about his current situation, they had a mission to complete and they were going to get as far as possible on this night. He and his friends crept up to the seventh floor of the mysterious tower and, as they had before, the stairs disappeared leaving only the tiled floor in this parody of a school hall. Looking intently ahead of them, he could see no shadows, so it would be safe for them to proceed. Then, he noticed something.

…

Mitsuru was being a little late with her usual call… He took out his communicator and held down a switch on the side.

"Senpai? Are you there?" he spoke into the small device.

…

No response. All that he could hear was static. He turned towards his friends and shook his head.

"I'm not getting anything from her."

Yukari placed a hand under her chin and lowered her eyes in thought. "Hm… I don't like this," she said worriedly, "We won't be able to tell what's ahead without her support. Maybe we should turn back…"

Junpei, ever the joker, clapped her on the shoulder. "What's wrong? Afraid of a little peace and quiet?"

"Shut it, Stupei! This is serious!" she exclaimed angrily in response, slapping his hand away.

Minato chuckled slightly before intervening to prevent a bigger argument. "Alright guys, settle down," he said, making a downward motion with his hands, "Whatever the case may be, we have to move forward."

Yukari let out a huff. "Well I'm willing to move on if a certain someone could keep his attitude in check."

Junpei just shrugged. "I guess some people just don't have a sense of humor."

To prevent further bickering from grating on him, he walked forward, forcing the others to follow. After a short walk through a small hallway, they happened upon a large room. Now, normally, a large room in Tartarus would be nondescript and empty, holding nothing of interest and prompting the team to move on. This one, however, contained the strangest thing Minato had probably seen so far.

The walls of the room were pitch-black, with the only discernable features being the entrance and exit. Against one wall of the room lay a strange looking television; it looked old and musky what with its round screen and dials. The strangest part of the room, however, was the table sitting against another wall. In the single chair, sat a dark-skinned man in a bright white suit calmly eating a steak. At his feet was a suit case as long as the man was tall.

Moments passed by as the children continued to stare at the man and the man continued to eat his meal without regard for their presence. Minato decided that it best to try and catch the man's attention. Anyone who wasn't a coffin in the Dark Hour was an ally, right?

"Um…"

*click*

His decision was immediately regretted as a silenced pistol was pointed directly at his face faster than he could blink an eye. The man held an expression as cold as a glacier for a few moments before he softened up and lowered his gun.

"Sorry, I thought you might be someone else. I don't harm children," he said calmly before returning to his meal.

Minato, first to shake way his shock, quickly thought, _'I don't think I want to provoke this guy. It would probably be best to change the subject…'_

"Your accent!" Yukari blurted out suddenly causing him to cringe.

The man raised an eye to look at her. "What about it?"

She seemed startled and looked at Minato for reassurance. He nodded and gave her a smile. "Um… It's… ah… off. Are you… an American?"

The man raised an eyebrow before closing his eyes and smirking. "You've got good ears, kid. Yes, I'm an American."

"Who are you, though?" she questioned with a little more confidence this time.

The man let out a small laugh. "Who am I? That's a good question." He took a sip from his tea cup. "The name's Garcian Smith. I'm a member of Killer7."

"That's not the… friendliest name for an organization," Junpei shakily piped in.

Garcian turned an eye towards him. "I don't see why it should be. We are assassins after all."

"Assassins?!"

"Yes, that's right. We used to be hired by the US Government, but we're a tool, a commodity. We go wherever the fight takes us and right now, it's here."

Despite the man's earlier words about not hurting children, Minato couldn't help, but sweat a little. _'This guy kills people for a living. Can we really trust him?'_

At the moment, Garcian appeared to be looking them over, scanning them with his eyes.

"You're a little lightly equipped, aren't you?" he casually asked.

"What?" Minato said in reply.

"You've got those swords and bows, which are good for close range, but what if you have to fight at a distance? That would be a job for a gun wouldn't it? And the ones you carry are obvious fakes."

Minato was taken aback a little. _'He could tell from that far away?!'_

"They said… they said that we wouldn't need guns… that we wouldn't have a use for them here." Yukari spoke thoughtfully.

"You're probably going to need stronger weapons than the ones you've got…" Garcian rubbed his chin in thought. "Tell you what: I come across a lot of weapons in my line of work. I'd be willing to sell them to you for the right price." He took another sip of tea.

"And what is the right price?" Minato asked cautiously.

"Blood," he replied causing the three of them to take a step back.

"Blood! You mean you want us to kill for you?!" Junpei yelped in fear.

"Not human blood, you idiot."

"Huh?"

Garcian closed his eyes. "In the Labyrinth, there is a creature invisible to the naked eye. When the halls are empty and all is quiet, you'll hear a sputter in the distance, then a chuckle closer by, then a laugh right next to you. If they get a hold of you, you're as good as dead. To fight them, you'll need this."

He slid an item across the table which Minato walked over and picked up.

_**Garcian**__ produced an item. __**Vision Ring**__ obtained!_

"I got that off a rival group we battled on Broadway in New York. When you hear the laugh of the Smiling Faces, the ring will let out a howl and the unseen shall become seen."

"What are you saying? I don't understand."

"You will when the time is right. We are… the same, after all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off. I have a meeting to catch with my informant."

Garcian picked up his suitcase and began to walk off.

"Wait! How will I even find you again?!" Minato yelled after him.

Garcian stopped and turned to look back at him. "This is Harman's Room. If Samantha or I aren't in the room, then use the TV." With that said, he walked into the darkness and disappeared.

Minato and the others chased after him, but only found a room with stairs down the hallway.

Junpei scratched his head. "Ah guys… What exactly just happened?"

"I'm… not sure," Minato replied, rubbing his forehead.

"It's probably best if we just… move on," Yukari said, coming up behind them.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said, walking up the stairs.

Suddenly, he heard a crackle at his hip. Hearing a sound coming out of his communicator, he held it up to his ear.

"Arisato… can you hear me?" He heard Mitsuru say through the device.

He held down the button to reply. "Yeah, I can hear you, Senpai."

"Where were you? I've been trying to contact you for the past half hour!"

"It's… a long story."

"Well… You can tell it when you get back. Be swift. The Dark Hour is about to end."

"Got it."

**A/N: Well, here I am writing another crossover. Don't know if I'll continue this one or not, but if I do, then it will diverge massively from Persona 3's canon in terms of what happens to the characters and Garcian and the others would have a larger role than just the "Gun Salesmen." Please PM if you have any questions or ideas and tell me what you think in a review. Ciao.**


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